'I've tried everything': Mum at her wits' end over son's Kpod addiction

Since discovering that her son had started vaping last September, Madam Tan (not her real name) has tried every possible avenue to help him break free from his Kpod addiction.

- Elisha Tushara

But after being bounced between agencies, she feels helpless and increasingly desperate.

"I've sought help from all the agencies, but no one is able to help me."

Madam Tan said her son picked up vaping in secondary school, just before sitting his O levels in 2024. He is now an 18-year-old student at the Institute of Technical Education.

"Now he walks like a zombie, and has no control of his body. When I call him, his response is slow. He's got no muscle at all and his body has become very weak," she said.

Unable to wake up in the mornings, her son has missed many days of school.

When Madam Tan and her husband, both in their 50s, try to confront the teen about his vaping and confiscate his devices, he gets aggressive and at times has run away from home.